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Interview: Zoë Coombs Marr returns as Dave in ‘The Opener’

Michelle Monaghan
Zoë Coombs Marr poses as Dave

Michelle Monaghan

Australian comedian Zoë Coombs Marr returns to the UK for her new show, The Opener, as the hilarious neckbearded comedian Dave. Zoë spoke with Empoword about The Opener and what to expect when Dave takes the stage. With performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Soho Theatre in London, Zoë will once again have people laughing their socks off.

Can you tell me about your show, The Opener?

“The show is a return to a character I did for a long time. It’s a show where Dave has come out of a coma and is encountering the modern world all at once. So it’s a frozen-in-time Encino man type of idea (laughs). But it’s also Dave is a retrograde kind of throwback open mic comic.

He’s from another time anyway, so it’s a fun way to recap what has happened in the last few years, especially since 2016. You know, Trump came in, and then there was MeToo in 2017. Then Covid and the rise of things that were already bubbling, but there was a big popular feminist movement.

There’s been a great increase in queer rights and trans visibility, and then there’s also been a backlash. There’s QAnon and a far-right, which can feel overwhelming and strange. So it’s fun to address that through this bumbling character who just came out of a coma and is like, who won the ice bucket challenge? (laughs)”

 

So it’s like a return and a huge comeback to be portraying Dave again after so long?

“It’s funny because Dave is a very fun character cause he is a fool. So it’s a lot of fun and he is almost; he’s not quite a villain. I don’t really think of him as a villain. I have quite maternal feelings towards Dave (laughs) as a character, but he’s a loveable bigot, which is a fun place to play. But he’s also a hack and is doing all the same material.

Dave’s only had about seven minutes of material, which is also fun. Still, it’s a fun way to look at these cycles of time and repetition and it’s almost like an alien looking at the world and what’s going on here.

Dave, it’s a ridiculous character and feels quite political. It’s very visceral and slap-sticky and fun and silly. He’s a parody of standup, I also am a standup, so it’s a fun mix of all those things. I’m in the show as well as myself. I open for Dave.”

 

How have people been responding to Dave’s reappearance back in Australia? In comparison, do you think people in the UK will respond differently to the character?

“I think Dave is always stuck in time and is like a comedian from the nineties or something. He’s very old school, so there’s something about that classic and unchanged.

Part of the reason I made the show was because there did feel like there were all these sorts of shifts and backlash, especially against queer people. It has become more mainstream and acceptable under the guise of anti-woke fighting back. To go back to these retrograde types of ideas that feel very much like the homophobia that I grew up with in the nineties.

Part of the reason why I did it was because I stopped doing Dave. After all, he didn’t feel relevant at that time. He has become more relevant in recent years, and that’s upsetting but interesting. He makes a lot of sense right now, and the two audiences are connecting it in that way.

It’s a mixed bag, and I have done Dave, and he has had a few outings in the UK. It also makes a lot of sense there; he occupies this particular space as an Australian. The British are aware of us and have opinions or there are stereotypes. Dave plays into those stereotypes a lot. For people who have seen Dave, it’s revisiting that and building on something, but you don’t have to have seen it to enjoy it. It’s introducing it to new people within a new context.”

 

How has re-portraying Dave again, such a loved character, after all these years, how has it impacted you personally?

“Physically I’m a lot older than when I last did Dave. It is a very physical character and a very physical show. Having to step back into this like an older body has been shocking. I’m quite creaky, and it’s extremely physical, so it hurts. I did a couple of warmup shows here, and after three shows, I have to hit the gym (laughs) like a maniac because I’m not as young as I used to be.

 

You mentioned cancel culture, and it addresses the show. How does The Opener reflect the ongoing issues in cancel culture, especially this year in 2023?

“I am so sick of talking about cancel culture! It’s so boring and not real either; cancel culture is not a thing. It’s an easy catchphrase that people who are being held accountable hold up to kind of paint themselves as victims.

No one ever really gets cancelled. Some people can, but we’re talking about the consequences of actions. We are all more visible and accountable because we are much more public with our opinions. 

There’s not some unjust witch hunt going on and people aren’t being unfairly targeted necessarily. You see it all the time. Trump is a great example, he does one thing, and then becomes the President. We have some conversation going on about cancel culture. That’s the opposite of being cancelled. The MeToo Movement, for instance, someone like Harvey Weinstein, that’s not cancel culture. That is the law. The guy has been prosecuted for rape; that’s not cancel culture. 

I’ve given Dave all of the conversations about cancel culture, and they are all the conversations I don’t particularly want to have. That’s quite fun because he gets stuck. I don’t want to give too much away. There’s a device within the show, and I torture Dave a bit—poor thing.”

 

I’ve seen that Dave wears facial hair. When you were creating the character, did you feel that it was necessary because you were portraying a male and how masculinity is commonly portrayed? 

“Dave is a drag character, and it’s about transforming myself into someone who reads as male. He’s not particularly exaggerated and I wanted it to be realistic.

I have done shows where if it’s a big enough audience and they are drunk enough, sometimes people don’t realise. My girlfriend was sitting behind a couple once in a show, and it was a straight couple. They argued about whether I was a man or a woman. She was like, ‘No, it’s a woman.’ He was like, ‘nah.’ He won the argument. Because he said, ‘Nah, it’s a dude. Check out his Adam’s apple!’ I don’t have an Adam’s apple. But then she said, ‘Oh yeah, you’re right.’

 

That’s a fun part of being a comedian, being able to transform yourself physically and emotionally into another character.

“What was striking when I first started doing Dave was that even as a fake man, there’s an inherent trust that an audience has with a male presence on stage. It’s interesting to feel the difference that there’s a weird familiarity. Even though he’s like a parody, people know exactly where to place him in a way that I’m not.

They pull back a bit when a person who’s not like a straight white guy enters a stage. They take a moment to decide how they feel about you. Whereas one of those guys, they’re like: ‘Oh! It’s one of those guys!’ When I come out as Dave, people know who this is.”

 

So, there’s still a clear divide between how people react to female versus male comedians and different sexual and gender identities?

“It depends on the context as well, and it depends on the audience. Many audiences are in more club environments and are just more used to a particular type of person. Sometimes they’re trying to figure you out and who you are. They’re trying to place you, and sometimes it could be that they don’t find women funny. Sometimes there is sexism or racism and all sorts of prejudices that everyone sort of carries with them.“

 

It’s interesting from the mindset of people who may not have been previously exposed to comedy shows and attending these shows for the first time.

“I think it can be quite scary. Sometimes people get very anxious for a performer as well.

Being in a space where someone is trying to make you laugh can be quite confronting. It’s fine; most of us do it intentionally and know what we’re doing. (I hope!) Especially now, in the last few years, with Covid, people haven’t been able to get out and see the live stuff.

There’s a certain magic that happens that doesn’t happen on screen. Don’t worry about seeing bad stuff because sometimes that’s the most memorable stuff. Every year at the festival, I try to find the worst show.

You never know which one it will be, but if you see a bunch of things, this may be the worst one that takes all the pressure off. Because here’s the worst thing that happens, you see a bad show, and if that’s what you aim to do at some point anyway, then win-win.”

 

Can we see a return of Dave after The Opener? Or is he going back on a break for a while?

“He might; he’s pretty tired at the end of the show. Recently, someone was like, ‘Oh, what do you reckon Dave would make of all this cancel culture stuff?’ I was like, ‘Oh, I reckon he just came out of a coma, and he’s just seen Dave Chappelle’s new special’. Which is called The Closer, and that’s why the show is called The Opener. 

Why not? It’s nice to play characters, but it would be good to portray yourself every once in a while. It’s a lot less itchy. Gluing hair to your neck every night is a pain! It’s my hair, and they are real hair clippings.

I finish a show, and I’m still dressed as Dave! (laughs) I have to walk out into the world and it’s weird. There’s a weird distance that it creates between you and other comedians as well. Because I’m suddenly dressed as this parody of them, it also makes socialising after a gig a little harder.”

 

The Opener will be showing at Soho Theatre in London from 12th-16th September.

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Featured image courtesy of Gaby Gerrard PR. No changes were made to this image. 

Originally from Australia, Michelle moved to the UK to pursue her dream of becoming a journalist. She is a reporter at the Farnham Herald and a NCTJ trainee at News Associates. Michelle holds a Bachelor of International Relations and a Bachelor of Arts, with a Major in Women's Studies and a Minor in Creative Writing from Flinders University.

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